The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for generating an image including editing comments in a sterile working area of a medical facility.
In modern medicine, treatments are being carried out more and more using technical imaging methods. By way of example, miniaturized cameras are inserted into the body of a patient, and the image taken by the camera is displayed to the physician on a monitor installed in his/her working area. In this way, the physician can, for example, examine an internal organ or a joint for diagnostic purposes and he/she can also carry out surgical operations in a minimally invasive fashion. In order to render the treatment of a patient as efficient and simple as possible, it is advantageous in this case when the monitor is arranged in the working area of the physician, i.e. in the sterile area. This allows the physician to track all the operations that he or she undertakes on the patient live on the monitor, the corresponding monitor image being picked up, for example, with an endoscopic camera. However, the invention is not restricted to applications in which images are generated by means of endoscopic cameras. Although this is a preferred application, the provenance of the images plays a subordinate role. For example, the images can also be X-ray images or photographs from an archive that are displayed on the monitor in the doctor's working area for the purpose of comparison, for example.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,688 discloses an integrated operating and control system for surgical operations on a patient, where use is made of such possibilities including the use of imaging methods.
In order to further improve the possibilities of such a system, it is desirable to provide the displayed image with commentaries, notes, marks and the like, which is generally referred to as editing comments in the following. This facilitates, for example, a discussion between a plurality of physicians in the compilation of a finding. Moreover, it is desirable for the purposes of education and training when, for example, an experienced physician can mark areas in the displayed image and provide them with commentaries.
Devices that permit an image displayed on a display unit (monitor, beamer or the like) to be provided with commentaries and marks exist for applications outside the medical field, such as for office applications and other commercial purposes. For example, Boeckeler Instruments, Inc. of Tucson, Ariz., USA, markets suitable devices under the brand name “Pointmaker®”. However, these devices have the disadvantage that they are neither conceived nor approved for applications in the field of medicine and therefore cannot be used in the sterile working area.
One possibility could be the use of the commercially available devices outside the sterile working area, wherein the relevant image from the sterile working area would then additionally have to be transmitted to a second monitor arranged outside the sterile area. It is disadvantageous here that the treating physician needs to leave the sterile working area in order to insert editing comments into the displayed image.
Another possibility could be to re-equip commercially available devices so that they fulfil the requirements for use in the sterile working area of an operating room. As a further alternative, it appears feasible to develop a device suitable for medical applications that already includes the desired functionality such as is known from commercially available devices. However, both approaches are complicated and expensive.